Crystal Lagoon’s 12.5-hectare Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt has been officially named the largest manmade lagoon on earth by the Guinness World Records. This is the second time the company has broken a world record, after its eight-hectare San Alfonso del Mar lagoon in Chile in 2007. The $5.5m lagoon ornaments the $500m Citystars Sharm El Sheikh tourism development located inland from the renowned Red Sea resort. Once completed, the 750-hectare mixed-use community will feature 12 lagoons in total with over 100 hectares of salt water sourced from underground aquifers. Carlos Salas, regional director Middle East at Crystal Lagoons, said:…
Author: Paromita Dey
UAE-based facilities management company, Imdaad, appointed Dev Makh as its new business development and marketing director. With over 20 years’ experience, Makh has worked across Europe and UAE, developing business development strategies across business to business (B2B) and business to consumers (B2C), with a clear focus on brand development, revenue generation and increasing profitability. Makh said: “This is the right time for the facilities and waste management companies to re-design their strategies to further strengthen their presence in the market and explore newer territories. I am eager to add my experience and expertise to help Imdaad realise its vision and…
As Saudi Arabia implements its new PMO law, representatives from the advising board met in Dubai to explain how the new legislation will help one of the world’s largest construction markets overcome its delivery challenges As a global best practice framework, the Project Management Office (PMO) is an integral, albeit often overlooked element of project management. While there are tangible benefits, the concept itself can at times be quite abstract. With a near two decade history globally, in its current form, the PMO is a combination of consulting, mentoring and managing deliverables, while establishing a culture of compliance, cooperation, efficiency…
On 7 December 2015, Vice chair of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer launched the State of Green Economy Report 2016 in the World Climate Summit 2015 in Paris. The launch was in the presence of Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, and Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change. The report provides an overview of initiatives that promote innovation and policy tools that help accelerate the process. It serves as a roadmap to establish new, impact-based and market-driven paradigms to decarbonise power sector and stimulate…
The National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) awarded Alstom a $16m contract to provide signaling system to equip the maintenance depot of the Cairo metro line one. This is the third contract awarded to the company by NAT, the first two being the supply of signaling and infrastructure solutions for Phase three and 4A of line three of the Cairo metro. The current contract work will be carried out in 2017. The metro project aims to upgrade the metro line one built in 1989 that serves as the backbone of the Greater Cairo underground metro network with a daily ridership of…
The Flux Innovation Lounge speaks with Construction Business News ME about how creative industries could play a major role in selling real estate In October 2015, interactive technology group Engage Works and strategic brand design company StartJG joined forces to launch Dubai’s first hi-tech innovation lounge. The first Flux Innovation Lounge, debuted in March 2014 in London, aimed to be a space for ideas and exploring emerging technologies through hands-on experience. The lounge is a creative space designed to inspire leading creative minds – brands and agencies alike – through an evolved showcase of the world’s best emerging interactive technology.…
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council announced the implementation of Abu Dhabi Safety and Security Planning Manual (SSPM) across 137 developments in the emirate. Introduced in 2013, the SSPM (in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Police) provides planning guidelines for mater plans and developments. It uses a range of practical plans and design methods to influence the environment. It uses the manual’s planning and design toolkits along with security technology and operations to deliver a holistic security strategy. The developments are classified under low priority and high priority, depending on the type of project and space. Out of 137 projects, 30 projects…
Two UAE-based upcoming projects, Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) and Dubai Opera House, won the Tekla Global BIM Awards among 51 global entries. The awards aimed to judge projects across three continents for its skillful modelling, collaboration and innovative construction. Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Midfield Terminal Building by China State Constructions Engineering Corporation was chosen by the jury as the winner of the public project category. With steel arches that span up to 180 metres, the project’s 3D BIM files from various parties were combined in Tekla for clash check, and preventing problems on site. The implementation…
Ashraf Al-Garf was named CEO of Projacs in August this year, before which the project management company was 51% acquired by international engineering firm, Egis. After a merger and a new leadership role, Al-Garf throws light on construction management in the region and the benefits of collaborating In recent times, there have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the construction industry. How do such deals affect management and how has this worked out for Projacs? M&A is all about increasing value of the new created entity when compared to the value of each company separately. That being…
The Middle East urgently needs millions of affordable housing units for its growing population. But is the construction industry ready to deploy standardisation and economies of scale to get building? Stuart Matthews writes There’s one clear consensus about affordable housing: something must be done. After that, opinions diverge on how best to meet the very clear need for affordable homes that exists in the GCC and the wider Middle East. The scale of the challenge is significant. While definitions of just what an affordable home is and who it is for vary from one calculation to the next, market sizing…